Senator Harris graduated from Bob's School of Law and Fashion Design (also called UC Hastings), and failed the Bar Exam on her first go. Judge B finished at the top of her class at Notre Dame Law School.
It is said that California has one of the most difficult Bar Exams in the country, based on the number of people who fail the first time (approximately half). But the reason for the high failure rate could be the proliferation of mediocre law schools in California. If you have a degree, you can get into law school in California. In fact, you can take the Bar without a law degree.
Like it or not, the Bar Exam is the best test of how smart you are and what you learned in Law School. Many law school exams and grades are focused on how much useless bullshit you can produce, but the Bar Exam is the real deal.
Quoting from an article I read this morning...
Did Joe Biden pass the bar on his first try?
The way to tell is by comparing when a celebrity graduated from law school and when he or she was “called to the bar.” For example, Barack Obama graduated from Harvard Law School in May or June 1991 and was admitted to the Illinois bar on December 17, 1991, suggesting he passed the not too tough Illinois bar exam on his first crack at it in the summer of 1991.
In contrast, Michelle Obama graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988 and was admitted to the bar on May 12, 1989, suggesting she did not pass the Illinois bar exam at her first chance, but did at her second.
Biden graduated from Syracuse Law School in June 1968. Sources conflict on when he was admitted to the Delaware bar: 1969 in some, but the most authoritative says he was “admitted to the bar December 1968” in Wilmington, DE.
At present, Delaware only offers the bar exam once per year, in late July.
Therefore, my bet would be that Joe passed the tough Delaware bar exam in July 1968 on his one and only try.
This is not a spectacular accomplishment: The majority of first-time takers pass Delaware’s test.
Still, it’s pretty good achievement. Joe is perhaps the second most vain man in American politics, after only his opponent in this race, so I’m sure he feels pretty good about himself over this.
Here are some other famous politicians and their experiences with the bar exam:
It is said that California has one of the most difficult Bar Exams in the country, based on the number of people who fail the first time (approximately half). But the reason for the high failure rate could be the proliferation of mediocre law schools in California. If you have a degree, you can get into law school in California. In fact, you can take the Bar without a law degree.
Like it or not, the Bar Exam is the best test of how smart you are and what you learned in Law School. Many law school exams and grades are focused on how much useless bullshit you can produce, but the Bar Exam is the real deal.
Quoting from an article I read this morning...
Did Joe Biden pass the bar on his first try?
The way to tell is by comparing when a celebrity graduated from law school and when he or she was “called to the bar.” For example, Barack Obama graduated from Harvard Law School in May or June 1991 and was admitted to the Illinois bar on December 17, 1991, suggesting he passed the not too tough Illinois bar exam on his first crack at it in the summer of 1991.
In contrast, Michelle Obama graduated from Harvard Law School in 1988 and was admitted to the bar on May 12, 1989, suggesting she did not pass the Illinois bar exam at her first chance, but did at her second.
Biden graduated from Syracuse Law School in June 1968. Sources conflict on when he was admitted to the Delaware bar: 1969 in some, but the most authoritative says he was “admitted to the bar December 1968” in Wilmington, DE.
At present, Delaware only offers the bar exam once per year, in late July.
Therefore, my bet would be that Joe passed the tough Delaware bar exam in July 1968 on his one and only try.
This is not a spectacular accomplishment: The majority of first-time takers pass Delaware’s test.
Still, it’s pretty good achievement. Joe is perhaps the second most vain man in American politics, after only his opponent in this race, so I’m sure he feels pretty good about himself over this.
Here are some other famous politicians and their experiences with the bar exam:
- Hillary Clinton: passed Arkansas Bar Exam on her first attempt, flunked tough DC Bar Exam on her only try, which is probably why she moved to Arkansas and married Bill
- 4-term California governor Jerry Brown: passed tough California bar exam on second try
- California governor Pete Wilson: passed tough California exam on 4th try
- Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: failed Cal four times, gave up
- Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley the Younger: passed easy Illinois test on third try
- John Kerry appears to have passed Massachusetts on his first try.
- Richard Nixon, unsurprisingly, passed California on his first try.
- Gerald Ford appears to have passed Michigan’s bar exam on his first try. As befits an All-American football hero at the U. of Michigan, he appears to have been up and practicing law in Michigan even before his test was graded.
- Bob Dole passed on his first try in Kansas; because his right arm had been destroyed charging a German machine gun nest, he was allowed to have his first wife write down the answers he whispered to her.
- Kamala Harris: failed tough California bar exam on first try, passed it on her second
